Coal-storage plant.



\ PATENTED OCT. 25, 1904.

I A. M. AGKLIN.

GOAL STORAGE PLANT. I APPLICATION FILED JULY 20.1903. RENEWED JULY29,1904.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 1 N0 MODEL.

No. 772,911. PATENTED OCT. 25, 1904:.

A. M. AGKLIN. GOAL STORAGE PLANT.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 20,1903. RENEWED JU LY 29,1904.

NO MODEL. 4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Ewe/2302':

No. 772,91i. PATENTED OCT. 25, 1904. I A. M. AGKLIN. COAL STORAGE PLANT.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 20.1903. RENEWED JULY 29,1904.

N0 MODEL. 4 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

ms 3 a9 4-; I 8

\NO, 772,911. PATENTED OOT.25,1904.

' A. M. AGKLIN.

COAL STORAGE PLANT.

APPLIOATI'OH FILED JULY 20.1903. RENEWED JULY'29,1904. no MODEL. 4SHEETS-SHEET 4.

4 flm i UN TE STATES Patented October 25, 1904;

PATENT OFFICE.

ALFRED M. AoKm orrirrssuno, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO HEYL & PATTERSON,or PITTSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA, A OOPARTNERSHIP or PENNSYLVANIA.

COAL-STORAGE PLANT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 772,911, dated October25, 1904.

Application filed July 20, 1903. Renewed July 29, 190 i. Serial No.218,610. (No model.) I

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALFRED M. AOKLIN, a

resident of Pittsburg, in the county of Allegheny and State ofPennsylvania, have in vented a new and useful Improvement in Coal-Storage Plants; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full,clear, and exact description thereof. I

My invention relates to a coal or like storage plant, its object beingto provide for the storing of coal in large quantities and to provide asimple form of. apparatus for the removal of same for loading in thecars or other receptacles.

Referringto the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a sectional view of asuitable storage tank or bin, showing the apparatus therein for theremoval of the coal and the loading of same into a car. Fig. 2 is a planview of the apparatus, the tank or bin being shown in section. Fig. 8 isan enlarged plan'view of the vertically and horizontally movable frame,partly brokenaway. Fig. 4 is aside View of same. Fig. 5 is an enlarged,section on the line 5 5, Fig. 1. Fig. 6 is a vertical section of theportionof the hollow pillar or support and the surrounding sleeve. Fig.-7 is a detail view of door and'lift mechanism. Fig. 8 is an enlargedview of the scraper-carriage removed, and. Fig. 9 is a view of a plantembodying three bins or tanks' connected up by the same conveyingmechanism for carrying the coal or like material to the car.

Like numerals indicate like parts in each 0 the figures.

In the drawings the numeral 2 designates a suitable foundation for a binor tank 8, said made toslope from the center and from-the sides towardthe grating, so that all water contained within the coal will be drainedtoward the grating 5 and carried off by the channels 6 and 7 to asuitable outlet. Formed within, the floor lis the outlet 8, arranged,preferably, at or near the center of the bin, said outlet being formedwith sloping sides, and beneath said outlet 8 is the tunnel 9, withinwhich travels the endless belt or conveyer 10,

said belt or conveyer being mounted on suitable driving-pulleys 11, ateach end thereof, and supported at intermediate points by the pulleys12. receivethe' material passing through the outi let ,8 and conveys thesame to the vertical con- I veyer or elevator 13, which lifts the coaland deposits it by the chute 14 into thecar 15. As any suitableconveying apparatus may be employed and it forms no part of myinvention, I have not deemed it necessary to illustrate the same infull.

Located over the opening 8 within the tank or bin 3 is the hollow pillaror support 16,

which may form the central support for theroof 4 and which extends upbeyond said roof and is provided at the top with the cap 17 The pillar16 is provided with sliding doors 18, said doors being arranged aroundsaid pillar, as shown, at suitable intervals, the

plates 19 forming guides for said doors. Three sets of these doors areillustrated, one above the other, and it is apparent that more may beemployed, if found desirable. To provide for the raising of said door,each of said doors is provided with the vertical rack-bar 18?, withwhich the pawl 18 engages. A le-i The conveyor 10 is adapted to ver 18,pivoted at 18, has its inner end engag- 5 equalizing-bar 24, as shown indotted lines.

A motor 20 is mounted on a suitable-support, the motor-shaft beinggeared up to the shaft 20 This shaft 20 has the sprockets 20,

connected up by chains 2t to the sprocketwheels on the shafts 21. Bythis construction the sleeve 20 may be quickly raised or lowered.

The sleeve20 is a non-rotary sleeve and is held from rotation by meansof the vertical strips 25 on the outer face of the pillar 16, whichengage with the lugs 26 on the inner walls of the sleeve 20. Vithin thelugs 26 are journaled the friction rollers 27, which bear against thevertical strips 25 on the pillar 16, whereby the sleeve 20 is free tomove up and down on said pillar, but is prevented from rotating aroundsame.

Secured to the sleeve 20 is the circular track 28,upon which the wheels29 travel,said wheels being mounted on the frame 30. The frame 30 isadapted to swing or rotate on the sleeve 20, and to provide mechanismfor this action the sleeve 20 is provided with the circular worm-rack31, with which the worm 32 on the shaft 33 is adapted to engage. Thisshaft 33 has the gear-wheel 34, meshing with the pinion 35 on the shaft36. This shaft 36 has the gear-wheel 37, meshing with the pinion 38 onthe motor-shaft 39 of a suitable motor 40, supported upon the frame 30.By supplying power to the motor it is apparent that through theconnections described arotary motion will be imparted to the frame 30,the wheels 29 thereof traveling around the track 28 on the sleeve 20.The frame 30 projects out toward the walls of the bin to a suitablepoint, and mounted at the outer end of this projecting portion 41 is thepulley 42, around which the endless cable 43 passes, said cable alsopassing around the pulley 44 on said frame. A suitable motor 45 ismounted on the opposite end of the frame 41 for driving the endlesscable 43. A belt 45 connects the motor 45 with the shaft 44. The motor45 is preferably mounted on the weight 45 so that said motor assistssaid weightin balancing said frame 30. The outwardly-projecting portion41 of the frame 30 is provided with the track 46, upon which the scrapercarriage 47 is adapted to travel, said carriage having the Wheels 48engaging the upper faces of the rails of said track and the wheels 49engaging the lower faces of the rails. A hinged or swinging scraper 50is mounted on the scraper-carriage 47, said scraper being hinged at 51and being held against backward movement by bearing against thescraper-carriage. As the scraper-carriage moves toward the center of thebin the scraper will be in position to scrape the material toward thecenter of the bin, but on its return will be free to swing so as to passover any impediments in its path.

W hen my improved storage plant is in use, where a bin is used the bin 2will be filled with coal or other material to a considerable heighttherein. WVhen it is desired to remove any of the coal from the bin, oneof the doors 18 will be raised and the coal adjacent thereto will fallthrough said opening until the coal takes substantially the positionindicated in dotted lines, Fig. 1. The motor 45 is put in operation todrive the cable 3, whereupon the scraper-carriage 47, which is securedto the cable 43, will travel toward the center of the bin and thescraper 50 being in proper position with reference to the top of thecoal will act to scrape or carry a portion of the coal from the toptoward the center of the bin, where it will descend by its own gravitydown through the opening 18 into the hollow pillar 16, whence it passesby the outlet 8 onto the conveycr 10 to be carried to the conveyor orelevator 13 and thence by the chute 14 to the car 15. In order to scrapethe coal evenly from the top of the pile. the frame 30 is shifted so asto scrape the coal from different points, and accordingly power istransmitted through the motor 40 to the worm-slutft 33, whereby the worm32 meshing with the worn'i-rack 31 causes the frame 30 to swing around,and when brought to the proper position the motor 40 is stopped and themotor 45 started up, whereupon the scraper will advance toward thecenter of the bin and scrape the coal from that section of the bintoward the center. Meanwhile the door 18 in radial line with theposition of the frame 41 is opened, so that the coal scraped from thatsection will pass through the door into the hollow pillar It, to beconveyed by the conveyer 10 in the manner above set forth. \Vhen thescraper has scraped off the upper layer of the coal all around the bin,it will be necessary to lower said scraper in order to bring it intooperative position, and for this purpose the sleeve 20 is lowered,carrying with it the frame 30. In order to lower the sleeve 21), poweris applied to the motor 20, whereupon said sleeve will be lowered, theside rollers 27 thereof traveling on the vertical strips 25 of thepillar 16. \Vhcn the sleeve has been lowered to the proper distance, thepower is shut oil from the motor 20 and the frame 30 may then be swungmto proper position and the scraper operated as above set forth. Thelowering of the sleeve 20 may make it neeessary to use the next lowerset or row of doors 18, and these doors are opened in order, aecordingto the direction of the projecting frame 41. .In this manner the coalmay be scraped evenly from the top of the pile and discharged from thebin in regular quantities. Any water or moisture contained in the coalwill be allowed to settle to the bottom of the tank and pass off throughthe grate 5, so that the coal contained within the tank is thoroughlydrained and is dry and the more easily handled.

In Fig. 9 l haveillustratcd a series of tanks arranged side by side andconnected up by a single conveying device, so that any one or more ofthe tanks may be put in operation and the coal conveyed to theloauling-point.

By thisconstruction differentgrades of coal can be kept in differenttanks, and bythe use of the above described apparatus the coal from anyone tank may be discharged onto the conveyer and loaded on the cars.

It is'obvious that my invention may be employed without the use of abinor. where the coal is'simply arrangedin piles.

WhatI claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In acoal, or like, storage plant, a suitable platform having adischarge-outlet, a ver- .tically movable frame supported above saidplatform, and a traveling scraper on said frame adapted to travel to andfrom said outlet.

2. In a coal, or like, storage plant, a suitable platform having adischarge-outlet, a vertically-movable frame supported above saidplatform, a traveling scraper carried by said mechanism for moving saidscraper frame, and to and from said outlet. v

3. "In a coal, or like, storage plant, asuitable platform having adischarge-outlet, a horizontally swinging frame supported above saidplatform, and a traveling scraper on said frame adaptedto move to andfrom said outlet.

4:- In a coal, or like, storage plant, a suitable platform havingadischarge-outlet, a horizontally and vertically movable frame supportedabove said platform, and a traveling scraper on said frame adapted tomove to and from said outlet. I c

5. In a coal, or like, storage plant, a suitable platform having adischarge-outlet, a hollow support connected to said outlet and havingan opening in its Walls, and a scraper carried by said support andadapted to move to and from said support.

6. Ina coal, or like, storage plant, asuitable platform having adischarge-outlet, a hollow support connected to said outlet and havingan opening in 1ts walls, a vertically-movable frame carried by sa1dsupport, and a scraper on said frame adapted to move to and from saidsupport.

7. In a coal, or like, storage plant, asuitable platform having adischarge-outlet, a hollow support connected to said outlet and havingan opening in its Walls, a horizontally-movable frame carried by saidsupport, and a scraper on said frame adapted to move to and from saidsupport.

8. In a coal, or like, storage plant, asuitable platform havingadischarge-outlet, a hollow support connected to said outlet and havingan opening in its walls, a horizontally and vertically movable framecarried by said support, and a scraper on said frame adapted to move toand from said support.

9. In a coal, or like, storage plant, a suitable platform having adischarge-outlet, a hollow support connected to said outlet, saidsupport havmg an opening 1n 1ts walls, a door controlling said opening,and a scraper carried by said support and adapted to move to and fromsaid opening.

10. In a coal, or like, storage plant, a suitable platform having adischarge-outlet, a hol set above the other, doors controlling-saidopenings, and a scraper carried by said support and adapted to movetoand from said openings.

12. In a coal, or like, storage plant, a suitable platform having adischarge-outlet in its bottom at or near the center thereof, a hollowsupport connected tosaid outlet, a horizontally-movable frame carried bysaid support and projecting out therefrom, and a scraper carried by saidframe and adapted to move to and from said support.

13. In a coal, or like, storage plant, a suit- I able platform havingadischarge-outlet, a hollow supportv connected tosaid outlet and havingan opening in its walls, anon-rotary vertically-movable sleeveencircling said support, a horizontally-projecting frame carried by saidsleeve, mechanism for impartinga hori zontal movement to said frame, anda scraper on said frame adapted to move thereon.

lt. In a coal, or like, storage plant, a suitable platform having adischarge-outlet, a hollow support connected to said outlet and havingan opening in its walls, a non-rotaryvertically-movable sleeveencircling said support, a horizontallyprojecting frame carried by saidsleeve, a worm-rack on said sleeve, a worm on said frame engaging saidwormrack, and a scraper on said frame and forth thereon.

15-. In a coal, or like, storage plant, a suitadapted to move back ableplatform having a discharge-outlet, a 1101- low support connected tosaid outlet and having an opening in its Walls, a non-rotaryvertically-movable sleeve encircling said support, a track encirclingsaid sleeve, a horizontallyprojecting frame adapted to travel on saidtrack, mechanism for imparting movement to said frame, and a scraper onsaid frame adapted to'travel back and forth thereon.

16. In a coal, or like, storage plant, a suitable platform having adischarge outlet, a rigid horizontally-projectingframe supported abovesaid platform, an endless traveling cable on said frame, a scraperconnected to said cable, and means for reversing the direction of travelof said cable.

17. In a coal, or like, storage plant, a suitable platform having adischarge-outlet, a hollow support connected to said outlet and hav ingan opening in its walls, a non-rotary vertically-movable sleeveencircling said support, a horizontally-projecting frame carried by saidsleeve, an endless traveling cable on said frame, a carriage on saidframe connected to said cable, a scraper on said carriage, and

said cable.

18. In a coal, or like, storage plant, a suitable platform having adischarge-outlet, a hollow pillar connected to said outlet and having anopening in its walls, a roof supported by said pillar, and means fordelivering the coal into said pillar.

19. In a coal or like storage plant, a suitable platform havingadischarge outlet, a hollow pillar or support connected to said outletand having an'opening in its walls, a horizontallymovable frame carriedby said support and projecting out therefrom, one portion of said frameprojecting farther down than the other, and a counterweight on theshorter projection of said frame, and a scraper carried on the longerprojection of said frame and adapted to move to and from said support.

20. In a coal or like storage plant, a suitable platform having adischarge-outlet, a hollow support or pillar connected to said outlet,said support having an opening in its walls, a horizontally-movableframe carried by said support, said frame projecting out in bothdirections from said support and projecting far ther in one directionthan in the other, a motor mounted on the shorter projection of saidframe and acting as a balance-weight, and a scraper carried by thelonger projection of said frame and adapted to move to and from saidsupport.

21. In a coal or like storage plant, a suitable platform having adischarge-outlet, a hollow support or pillar connected to said outlet,said support having an opening in its walls, a horizontally-movableframe carried by said support, said frame projecting out in bothdirections from said support and projecting farther in one directionthan in the other, a weight mounted on the shorter projection of saidframe, a lnotor on said weight, and a scraper carried by the longerprojection of said frame and adapted to move to and from 1 said support.means for reversing the direction of travel of 22. In a coal or likestorage plant, a suitable platform having a discharge-outlet, a hollowpillar or support connected to said outlet. said support having anopening in its walls, a vertically-nmvable frame supported by saidpillar, a weight connected to said frame and extending down within saidpillar, and a scraper carried by said frame and adapted to move to andfrom said support.

23. In a coal or like storage plant, a suitable platform having a.discharge-outlet, a hollow support or pillar connected to said outlet,said support having an opening in its walls, a vertically-movable sleeveencircling said support, a frame carried by said sleeve, :1 scrapermounted on said frame, pulleys on said support, cables connected to saidsleeve and passing over said pulleys, and a weightconnected to saidcables within said pillar or support.

2a. In a coal or like storage plant, a suitable platform having adischarge-outlet, a hollow support or pillar connected to said outlet,said support having an opening in its walls, a vertically-movable sleeveencircling said sup iort. a frame carried by said sleeve, :1 scrapermounted on said frame, pulleys on said support, cables connected to saidsleeve and passing over said pulleys, an equalizing-bar connected tosaid cables, and a weight connected to said equalizing-bar within saidpillar or support.

In testimony whereof I, the said Amnnn M. ACKLIN, have hereunto set myhand.

ALFRED M. AUK LIN.

\Vitnesses:

Ronnn'r C. Tlortrnn, (i. (I. RAYMOND.

